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New Beginnings (again)

Our son was born on 2/22/2012. I was secretly hoping to have him on that date so it was a happy coincidence that he actually decided to be born that day. I started having contractions the night before, and decided to go to the hospital in the morning after having breakfast and taken kids to schools. Delivery went smoothly and uneventful, and he was born at 3:04 in the afternoon that day. Our kids came to see him later at the hospital that evening. It was definitely an emotional day for me.

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Fast forward three months – he is growing nicely, despite the fact that he has been hospitalized twice already. On the first incident, he developed a lump on his upper right cheek when he was about 7 days old, and it wasn’t getting smaller over time. We decided to present the lump to an after-hours pediatrician on the weekend instead of waiting until Monday, who sent us to the Emergency Room. He was admitted to NICU that evening and spent next 10 days in the hospital – it turned out he was infected with MRSA. We never found out how he’s got it, but apparently MSRA bacteria is among us (Community-MRSA) so it could have been anywhere. After ten somewhat stressful days, he was able to come home with oral antibiotics. After another week or so, he got a clean bill of health and was able to wean off all the meds.

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Then just last week, he developed a high fever, and after consulting with nurse over the phone, we decided to take him into the ER again. My husband took him in and while he was at ER, his oxygen level dropped to an alarming level where nurses made the call to intervene with an oxygen mask. Naturally doctors wanted to keep him for observation. His fever spiked even higher later in the morning, so he stayed two more nights, doing all kinds of tests. Well, they ruled out bacteria, and dangerous kinds of viruses. They never figured out what caused the fever in the first place, but he was better by the 2nd night so he was discharged from the hospital.

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At home, Baby Hirot likes to be held a lot. He is a good eater. He recently started smiling and making quiet cute audial baby noises. Our older sons, now 4.5 years old and almost 6 years old, love their baby brother. It is one of my favorite things to see how much they adore him. Another thing about him is that, unlike most babies, he doesn’t like riding in a car seat and he almost always cries. When I tell people I have three boys, most people say “Wow”. Sometimes people ask me if I wanted a girl, and/or ask if we would still try for a girl. To that, I say – after having lost the previous pregnancy at 16 weeks, I am kind of over that boy/girl thing, and that I am grateful that we were given another chance to raise another baby. But sometimes people press like “You must try for a girl” or “At some point you should give up, right?” To that, I don’t really know what to say. The other day, one of the teachers at my son’s preschool said “Three boys! You are a chosen mom”. I liked that comment a lot (I do think I am good at making cute boys). I hope this trip to ER followed by hospital stay does not become his “thing” – we need to reinforce more strict hand-washing before touching him – but that kind of experience gives you perspective. Nothing is certain or guaranteed in life. We are all given equal chance of choosing to feel grateful and make the most of the time or the situation. I am grateful to be given another day with him, and with everyone in my family.